Chapter 31

Li Yao inwardly cursed, "Damn it," thinking to himself how could he have used the brutal trials of the ancient cultivation sects from forty thousand years ago as a standard?

After all, in the dream of Nanke, every year, hundreds of miscellaneous servants of the Hundred Refinements Sect died from the torment they could not endure.

Even so, the Hundred Refinements Sect was considered relatively lenient and kind among the prestigious sects. If it were a stricter sect, the death of thousands of disciples each year would not even be considered a big deal.

As for the demonic sects, it goes without saying; the birth of each strong cultivator was accompanied by the sacrifice of tens of thousands of weaker ones.

The ancient cultivation era was that cruel.

"Uh, Teacher Sun, I took another look, and your hellish death training is indeed very hellish, very deadly, and very terrifying. I'm so afraid I won't be able to complete it!" Li Yao said insincerely.

Sun Biao, a seasoned old fox, could easily see through Li Yao's敷衍 (insincerity). He was furious inside and sneered, "Young man, don't talk big. Change into your training clothes and try ten sets of squats first?"

Sun Biao stood up, picked up a set of very old training clothes from a dusty corner of the training ground, and threw them to Li Yao.

"Squats? I like them!" Li Yao stretched his body, took off his school uniform, and put on the dusty old training clothes. His eyes sparkled, and he said with a grin.

He now had astonishing strength and was least afraid of strength training like squats and bench presses. If he went all out, he would make the old man's eyes pop out!

Walking to the rusty squat rack, he thought for a moment, pulled out two rusty weight plates, and slammed them onto the bar.

Squat weight—300 kilograms!

"200 kilograms is too little; it won't even serve as a workout. I usually warm up with 300 kilograms. Is that okay, Teacher Sun?" Li Yao smiled at the old man, showing his white teeth.

"Of course, but I'm afraid you'll regret it later," Sun Biao also smiled, revealing his yellowish-brown teeth.

"Just 300 kilograms, I can do twenty sets in one go. What's there to regret?" Li Yao spat into his palms, rubbed them until they were hot, and gripped the bar tightly, hoisting it onto his sturdy back muscles. He suddenly exerted force with his feet, lifted it up, and then—

Suddenly, he felt his whole body tighten. The loose training clothes seemed to come to life, contracting sharply into a layer of tough leather, completely enveloping him!

At the same time, an overwhelming force suddenly struck him, as if a mountain had crashed down on his head, instantly knocking him to the ground!

"I forgot to tell you, kid. This training suit is a magical treasure I specially refined over a decade ago, called 'Abandon.' It has many abilities. The first is to generate a gravitational field. When you wear this suit, it's like wearing a suit of armor weighing hundreds of kilograms. Let me see, you now have 200 kilograms of additional weight!" Sun Biao sneered.

200 kilograms of weight, plus the 300 kilograms of the barbell itself, made a total of half a ton. Caught off guard, Li Yao was naturally pinned down.

"Very despicable, but 500 kilograms is nothing!"

Li Yao's eyes were filled with stars from the pressure. He clenched his teeth tightly, braced his hands, and the veins on his arms bulged like snakes. His bones crackled, and he straightened his back, re-gripped the barbell, spread his legs, and sank his hips, standing up steadily.

One standard squat completed!

Total weight—500 kilograms!

"In the dream of Nanke, I was trained by the 'Giant Spirit God' for several decades. His methods were a hundred times more ruthless than yours, old man. You think this can stop me? Dream on!" Li Yao roared in his heart and squatted deeply again, preparing for the second squat.

Suddenly, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his soul. Li Yao felt a powerful current surge into all 720 of his acupoints, making his hair stand on end, his eyes turn white, and he let out a惨叫 (anguished cry), falling to the ground again. The barbell crashed onto the squat rack with a "clang," sending rust and dust flying.

"The second ability of this 'Abandon' is to release powerful currents, which can strike your acupoints every few seconds to a minute, stimulating your cells to strengthen, helping you cleanse your marrow and bones, and transform your body. Tsk, tsk, tsk, this is a treasure that most people dream of, but it comes with a little 'minor pain.' Can you endure it?" Sun Biao continued to ask with a smile.

"Just a joke, of course I can endure it!" Li Yao's lips were bitten to shreds. He lay on the ground, panting for a long time before struggling to get up, his right hand trembling as he reached out to the barbell.

Before his fingertips touched the barbell, the pain of life and death struck again. This time, it wasn't a current but extreme heat!

It was as if his whole body had been thrown into a volcano, struggling in scorching lava, his skin melting, and his veins filled with boiling iron!

And the next second, the heat suddenly disappeared, replaced by bone-chilling cold, as if his brain had frozen into a block of ice, making it impossible to breathe or think!

The extreme heat and cold alternated three times before gradually fading. Before Li Yao could even cry out, the current struck his acupoints again, tearing through his body and causing him to convulse uncontrollably!

"The final ability of this 'Abandon' is to produce extreme heat and cold every minute, attacking your mind. Don't worry, these are mental techniques targeting the deepest part of your brain. They are illusions and won't harm your body at all. Instead, they will temper your mental strength, expand your brain's potential, and allow you to absorb more spiritual energy when you become a cultivator, making your cultivation speed much faster than others."

Seeing Li Yao rolling on the ground in pain, a hint of disappointment flashed across the old man's face. He then smiled bitterly, yawned, and said lazily, "Alright, we're done playing. Take it off. This suit isn't for you. Just say 'I give up,' and it will automatically come off and stop tormenting you."

"Give up?"

Li Yao lay on the ground for a long time, panting like a beached whale.

Finally, he stood up like a rusty metal puppet, inch by inch, and with great difficulty, hoisted the barbell onto his shoulders, enduring the 200 kilograms of weight, the current, and the mental attacks of extreme heat and cold, and performed the second squat!

"Two!" Li Yao roared from deep in his throat.

It was a battle cry that often echoed in the depths of the treasure tomb.

Sun Biao "hmm"ed, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, then sneered, "Just two. A set of squats has ten!"

"Three... three!" Li Yao gritted his teeth, and the training room was filled with the sounds of metal grinding and rust flying!

Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!

Ten squats in total, Li Yao, wearing the bizarre "Abandon," exhausted his last bit of strength, and performed ten perfectly standard, meticulous squats!

"I, I did it!" Li Yao's head was dizzy, his ears ringing, his blood surging to his brain, and his heart pounding so hard it seemed ready to tear through his chest.

Without doing any recovery exercises, he fell flat on his back under the squat rack, staring blankly at the glaring crystal light on the ceiling, feeling he couldn't control even a little finger.

Sun Biao's figure appeared in his field of vision, his face showing undisguised surprise. The old man's voice trembled, "Kid, are you okay?"

"I, I'm fine. Just rest a bit, and there are... nine more sets!" Li Yao's lips curled into a smile that was more like a grimace.

Sun Biao was silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Kid, give up. I already said this suit isn't for ordinary people. You can't complete ten sets of squats in it—there are still ninety more! Come on, say 'I give up' and take it off."

Li Yao's gaze passed over Sun Biao and focused again on the glaring light on the ceiling.

Through the tears and sweat, the light became incredibly brilliant.

He suddenly realized why this magical treasure was called "Abandon."

Because its greatest ability was not the gravitational field of hundreds of kilograms, nor the intense current, nor the mental illusions of extreme heat or cold.

It was simply, easily, and ordinarily—saying "I give up."

As long as he touched his lips together, with the lightest voice, saying "I, give, up," he could take off the training suit, escape the weight, current, and mental torture, and—

Forever lose the courage to put it on again.

Was he going to give up?

The first set of squats had already drained all his strength. Every muscle, every blood vessel, every cell was exhausted. He felt he didn't even have the strength to urinate.

There were still nine more sets, ninety squats in total. He had to endure the 200 kilograms of weight, the current, and the mental attacks, hoisting the 300-kilogram barbell, and repeatedly squatting, standing, and straightening his back.

Ninety times in total.

Was it even possible? Even if he gritted his teeth, used all his strength, and completed two or three sets, he would surely collapse and say "I give up" by the fourth, fifth, or sixth set.

If so, why not give up now?

It was very simple. Just touch his lips together, let his vocal cords vibrate slightly, and open his mouth. "I, give, up." In half a second, he would be relieved and free.

"I... give..." Looking at the brilliant light on the ceiling, Li Yao said each word softly.

But in that brilliant light, a series of dazzling memories suddenly appeared.

"This suit isn't for ordinary people," Sun Biao had said.

"But am I an ordinary person?"

"An ordinary person probably wouldn't be born with memories from a past life, remembering all sorts of nonsense about 'Earth,' right?"

"An ordinary person couldn't have survived the soul-snatching attack of the powerful cultivator Ouyezi from forty thousand years ago, and even absorbed Ouyezi's memories, right?"

"Either of these things happening to someone would make them not an 'ordinary person.' But both happened to me, one after the other!"

"Am I going to give up here, in front of this training suit not meant for 'ordinary people'?"

Li Yao's gaze suddenly shifted from the light, contracting to the deepest part of his pupils, becoming a pinpoint of starlight.

"Teacher Sun—can I listen to music?" he suddenly said softly.

"Listen to music?" Sun Biao was taken aback by Li Yao's sudden question and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sure."

"Great, give me half a minute."

Li Yao smiled slightly, closed his eyes, and inserted the miniature magical treasure "Sound Bell" from the Melody Sect into his ear.

Lu Yinxi's piercing voice, as if it could pierce the entire galaxy, immediately resonated deep in his soul:

"Follow the surging waves, stumbling and struggling, but pushing forward!"

"Unafraid of thunder and lightning, the lightning will illuminate the path ahead!"

"I am different from you all!"

Li Yao suddenly opened his eyes.

The pinpoint of starlight in his eyes had disappeared, or rather—his eyes were full of starlight!

Then, he said something that left Sun Biao utterly confused: "I am not a dried fish..."

"What did you say?" Sun Biao thought he had heard wrong. What dried fish?

Amidst the violent music, Li Yao didn't hear the old man's question. He was completely immersed in his own world, muttering softly, "Perhaps dried fish once had dreams but gave up because of various reasons, dried up, withered, and gradually became dried fish, becoming 'ordinary people.'"

"But I am not a dried fish. I—will never give up!"

Li Yao stood up, with 300 kilograms on his shoulders, his body crackling with current, and his brain filled with howling cold winds and raging lava.

But he still gripped the barbell tightly, his strength so great that even the strongest steel creaked in his hands.

"Second set of squats, start!"

In the long-sealed training ground, the roar of surging waves echoed again, rolling with passionate heat!